Face in the water is a good time to let the loogy out and let the pool filter deal with it.

---

https://markmcdermott.substack.com

Why is water in the mouth inevitable?
I don't get water in my mouth, I like breathing air.

I'm with you....I prefer breathing air, too. I don't get water in my mouth with every breath, or even every length. But, it does seem to occur maybe once per 200 or so....and like I said, typically on the last 50/25 when I'm more oxygen starved. Maybe its a technique thing, when I'm more tired? I'm in the process of hiring a coach, so I'll ask him once that's up and running.

You breathe in the hole in the water made by the wake of your head.
If you lift your head up you loose the hole to breathe in.
Simple, keep the top of your head in the water.
It will stop your legs going to the bottom as well.
Another thing to watch for is late breathing.
As your body is rotated during the last third of the stroke, ie, staring to press with your triceps, you should already be initialising the breathing.
If you find you are still trying to breath as your recovery arm goes past your head, try making a conscious effort to breathe earlier by turning your head to initiate the body roll instead of it just tracking with your body.

Thanks.

I don't think I lift my head. I'm pretty conscious of that, and always have one goggle in the water (I always visually focus on the underside of the lane line), and keep my head buried/ear into shoulder.

However, the late breathing that you describe sounds exactly like me. I have a mental image imprinted of exactly what you are describing...seeing my recovery arm coming forward with my above-water eye. I started with TI, and TI makes exactly that point, "roll the head WITH the body" (or even after, but never before).

I'll pay some attention to that on Saturday.

Don't get me wrong, your head should be rolling with your body, but late breathing means that you are late rolling it so it is in fact not rolling with your body and you may be staring at the bottom for too long.
The initiate the roll with your head is a tool to let you feel when you should be rolling and highlighting if you are in fact late breathing. Just like any other drill, it exaggerates a movement.

Another really good timing drill is to swim one arm with the other held by your side.
Then as you swim, breathe to the the non-stroking side.
This is very hard to do if your timing is out, get that drill right and you will find your timing is fine.

Got it. Yes, again TI makes that emphasis...during the roll-to-breath TI drill, he makes the point that to fix a problem with doing the drill to stare at the black line until the body is rotated and only rotate the head at the last second. I had the problem that was referenced in the drill (I can't remember exactly what it was)...and therefore implemented the "fix". So, it wouldn't be much of a surprise that I've carried that forward.

Interesting. I've seen people doing exactly that drill, and wondered what that was about. I also thought, "That looks like a nightmare!"

You should have a video and post it here. Without that it is hard to offer any concrete advice. Well other than: you need to swim more. What is your weekly swim distance?

Do you hold you breath when your face is under ?

Do you breath in and out above water ?

Or do you breath out under water and then in above ?

As you tire more you may breath deeper - running out of time to complete your cycle (if trying to do both above water).

Just a few thoughts from a perfectly average swimmer :-)

WD :-)

Tips that I give swimmers that should help this at least a little.
1 Always exchange air and
2 don't count on any one breath.

1 Exhale in the water, inhale in the air. You should always being doing one of these. When your face is underwater; always exhale slowly.

2 This is especially important in open water; but even in pools is important. Don't go for a huge lung filling breath; just in case you are getting water instead.

Wow...thanks for the tips!


No. I breath out continuously under water.


Just a final burst of air as my mouth and nose clear the surface to get that film off my mouth and nostrils. I read on here recently someone suggesting that a swim cap helps prevent that water on the face (if its draining from hair)...I was considering a cap to see if that made a difference (not that I have a ton of hair at 48 :-). I don't swim with a cap today.


Perhaps. I certainly breath out more vigorously as the set wears on---I DO notice that. But, I haven't paid as much attention to the character of the inhale---as my focus has been (from a breath perspective) making sure that I'm breathing out under water, so that I don't have to out-in above water.

Regarding Video: For several reasons, video capture has been somewhat problematic to obtain. The lap pool is 7' deep at its shallowest, and I usually end up over the diving pool...not exactly optimal for video. However, there are three 4-1/2' warm-down lanes in another pool---which would work just fine, except they are too hot for a full set (think actual WARM water, >85 degF). But I'm either in a "hurry" to get to the office, or there is a class in there. So, it just hasn't happened. Besides, I've been working on getting a local swim coach; so, I wasn't so worried about getting video taken for posting.

Flip Turns

I spent 15 minutes practicing those today after the main set....thank you very much! ;-)

Maybe I should change my sig to "I don't flip-turn, but I'd like to!"

I thought I'd circle back with a quick update.

I was definitely breathing late, which was causing the issue noted here...as well as limiting the depth of breath I could take. I haven't tried the one-arm drill, yet. Mostly because I forgot to, and the "lead with my head" drill worked to point out the issue. Today I did 8x150scy and was able to take noticeably deeper breaths...basically beginning my inhale just as my stroking arm is exiting the water. 1. I didn't get any water in my mouth (no choking or coughing). 2. I was able to get a good lung filling breath and remained comfortable for the entire set (instead of always feeling just a bit behind on O2). Another side effect, is that it was easier to concentrate on other body position details as less of my mental focus was working on "getting O2".

Also the suggestion to "let the lugey fly" was equally helpful (if somewhat less gentile).

And a final note....I'm still working on my flipturns. I've graduated from the practice pool to doing them in warmup. I haven't bounced off the pool bottom or ended up in the other lane, yet. But, they aren't the equal of my open turns either. Seems like they are about +2sec.

Anyway, thanks again.